Webster neighbors rap plans for paddle-boat marina

Thursday

Jul 31, 2014 at 6:00 AM

By Brian Lee TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

WEBSTER — The multiple layers of Webster Ventures' controversial plan to put a 75-foot paddle-wheel boat on Webster Lake via the Indian Ranch campground and concert venue continued Wednesday with the opening of a state Chapter 91 public hearing to consider expanded docking accommodations.

The hearing had nothing to do, however, with the boat, which is called Indian Princess.

Ben Lynch, a state waterways official who ran the hearing, said his agency did not have the legal authority to force the boat to be taken out of the water if Webster Ventures owner Christopher Robert chose to bring it to Webster.

A neighbor, Faith Rubin, testified that she witnessed a man at the Indian Ranch marina dump oil and gas from the engine of his boat Wednesday.

That scenario, Ms. Rubin argued, will be multiplied if the applicant's proposal to add 40 boat slips to its existing 26-slip marina, which hasn't been authorized by the state, is approved by the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Meanwhile, Mr. Robert said that he learned on Friday that the state DEP had upheld the Webster Conservation Commission decision in February to approve his proposed boat ramp and berth for the paddle-wheel boat, as well as to expand a marina and add sand to a swimming beach, all subject to meeting 55 special conditions set forth by the commission.

The state added 32 more conditions.

There is a 10-day appeal period, Mr. Robert said.

During the hearing, Town Administrator John F. McAuliffe said the plan would bring a major change to Reid Smith Cove, and other less intrusive commercial marinas in town are boxed into a corner for more passive recreation.

In addition, Mr. McAuliffe said the idea of a septic truck running down to the shoreline to pump out 400 gallons to 600 gallon of septage from the boat struck him as a "high-risk type of proposition."

Lawyer John J. Goldrosen of town counsel firm Kopelman and Paige noted that offended residents during the lengthy process had been told to wait to state their appeals during the Chapter 91 licensing hearing, and he encouraged the state to come up with a process that put everyone at the table to realize the goal of imposing regulations that made sense.

Luke H. Legere, the lawyer for Concerned Citizens for Webster Lake, said Webster Ventures' proposal would expand its two docks by about 250 percent each, "a massive increase."

Mr. Legere said that the proposal, which purported to offer additional public access to the lake, would in fact be limited to Indian Ranch customers.

The lawyer also noted that the lake has two boat launches and a town beach that afford public access to the lake "without infringing upon and significantly interfering with the rights of the public to use Webster Lake generally, and particularly" residents of Reid Smith Cove.

Mr. Legere said the proposal boiled down "to a privatization of Reid Smith Cove" for a commercial venture, and the financial gain for one outfit.

In an interview, Mr. Robert declined to answer a reporter's question about whether he intended to soon bring the boat to Webster Lake, given that the state official said his agency did not have the authority to stop it.

To move the boat here, Mr. Robert said, he needed a wide-load permit from the state Department of Transportation, which he said he expects to be issued.

Many of the residents addressed the unauthorized nature of Mr. Robert's existing marina, which they often referred to as "illegal."

During the interview, Mr. Robert said that there are many things that have been built in many places on the lake and other lakes in other jurisdictions that have "sort of grown up over time."

To that end, he said he didn't know of any marina on Webster Lake that had a state permit.

"If you ask the state, 'Has anybody ever gotten a permit for a marina on Webster Lake,' they're going to say 'no.' It's a historical problem that was never fixed."

Mr. Robert said opponents call his marina illegitimate to make him sound like a bad guy.

"I've tried to do it right, now, but they want to say, 'Why didn't you do it right 30 years ago?' I didn't own it 30 years ago."

He went on to say that the existing 26 boat slips at Indian Ranch were in place when he bought the facility 11 years ago.

"Everybody knows that; they try to pretend that they don't," he said

The state will continue to accept public comments on the Chapter 91 license until Aug. 29, after which the applicant has 180 days to respond.

The DEP would then conduct a 90-day technical review and make its decision — either a draft approval with conditions, or a denial. This would be followed by a 21-day appeal period.

Contact Brian Lee at brian.lee@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter at @BleeTG